Transgender Teen Girl Attacked in Seattle

An assault on August 16 in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood has left a transgender teenage girl with a serious head injury and emotional trauma. According to MyBallard.com, Tiva Anderson was attacked by an unidentified woman about 10 blocks from a skate park popular with area youth.

"I don't want to see you around the skate bowl anymore," the attacker yelled before hitting Anderson with a bat, according to the police report filed on August 20. The victim sustained a subdural hematoma and a portion of her skull had to be removed for treatment of the injury.

Anderson's parents, Cindy and Tad Anderson, told My Ballard that their daughter is expected to make a full physical recovery. However, her parents say she's emotionally fragile since the attack.

"She has learning disabilities that can make it hard to interact with her, and she is transgender (biologically male but considers herself female and sometimes dresses that way)," the parents wrote in an email to neighbors. "It probably should have been obvious to us a long time ago, but this turns out to be a dangerous combination. Transgender people are the most likely to be harassed and Tiva is particularly vulnerable due to her limited social skills."